Summary
Summary of The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales
The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales at a glance
Summary: 8 min to read
- Reading time
- About 5 h 25 min4 h 15 min fast, 6 h 25 min slow
- Length
- 77,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1890by Arthur Conan Doyle
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
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Key ideas
Key idea 1
A captain refuses to turn home
John M'Alister Ray, a medical student serving as a whaler's surgeon, keeps a diary as the Pole-Star lies trapped among Arctic ice. Food is running short, but Captain Nicholas Craigie insists that whales lie just beyond the ice. The crew wants to leave.
Then strange sounds and reports of a white figure unsettle the ship. Ray looks for ordinary explanations, until the Captain stares at something nobody else can see. His careful observations make the growing uncertainty feel close and real.
Key idea 2
Careful explanations can hide nearby danger
An abandoned ship, untouched cargo and a spool of silk left standing introduce a puzzle.
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Key idea 3
An experiment serves an ordinary wish
Professor von Baumgarten believes that a soul leaves its body during a trance.
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Key idea 4
A solitary man acts on feeling
John M'Vittie settles beside Mansie Bay to study philosophy and chemistry without company.
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Key idea 5
Fear turns clues into apparent proof
Aboard the Spartan, the nervous Hammond overhears two passengers discussing something they have brought onto the ship.
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Key idea 6
Distant decisions reach a waiting household
Don Diego Salvador decides to manufacture corks in Spain rather than sell bark to English firms.
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Key idea 7
Beauty conceals a frightening will
Medical student Robert Armitage believes that his friend John Barrington Cowles died through supernatural agency, but offers the facts for others to judge.
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Key idea 8
Watching quietly reveals an unexpected mystery
John Vansittart Smith visits the Louvre for his scientific work and notices an attendant whose face resembles those painted on Egyptian tomb walls.
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Key idea 9
The narrators shape what we believe
Fear, love and loyalty connect tales that otherwise move between strange events, tenderness and straight-faced jokes.
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Go deeper: the whole of The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales
About 5 h 40 min to read.Start freeWho it’s for
Readers who enjoy ghost stories, sea yarns, clever puzzles and mysteries told by nervous narrators will love this collection. It also suits Sherlock Holmes fans drawn to Doyle's stranger side.
What this book is
What would you do if your captain stared across the ice at a ghost no one else could see, and still refused to sail for home? That is the scene that gives this book its name.
The Captain of the Polestar and Other Tales collects ten short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, the Scottish doctor who also created Sherlock Holmes. He wrote them early in his career, when magazines were hungry for a good shiver. The tales range from Arctic ice to a Scottish bay, a Boston steamer, an Australian goldfield and the Louvre at midnight. Some frighten, some make you laugh, and some are tender.
In this summary
- 1A ghost on the ice grips the PolestarFree
- 2A ship found empty and a doctor's account
- 3A professor tries to part soul from body
- 4A scholar who hates people saves a stranger
- 5Two men and a box on a Boston steamer
- 6A small idea in Spain ruins a Devon factory
- 7A failed writer dreams of great novelists
- 8A brilliant student meets a mysterious woman
- 9A parson cleans up a rough mining camp
- 10A night in the Louvre among the mummies
Key point 1 of 10
A ghost on the ice grips the Polestar
The first tale is a ship's diary kept by John M'Alister Ray, a medical student serving as surgeon on a whaler. In September the Pole-Star lies locked among ice fields north of Spitsbergen. Food is running short, and the crew wants to go home.
Captain Nicholas Craigie refuses to leave. He swears he has seen whales just beyond one strip of ice, and he wants his fortune. Strange sounds spread through the ship. The second mate tells of a tall white figure on the ice, and Ray blames a bear on its hind legs.
Then Ray sees the Captain grip his wrist and stare across the floe at something nobody else can find. Craigie asks whether bad dreams are a sign of madness. Ray begins to wonder whether he is the only sane man aboard. When a sensible man keeps a careful record, his fear becomes the reader's.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
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Check yourself
Why does Captain Craigie refuse to leave the ice?
Right. “He swears he has seen whales just beyond one strip of ice, and he wants his fortune.”Not quite. “He swears he has seen whales just beyond one strip of ice, and he wants his fortune.”
What does Fritz demand before helping with the Professor's experiment?
Right. “His price is the hand of Elise, and the kind old Professor agrees at once.”Not quite. “His price is the hand of Elise, and the kind old Professor agrees at once.”
What does Hammond's reaction to the box show about fear?
Right. “Fear can turn every harmless clue into proof.”Not quite. “Fear can turn every harmless clue into proof.”
Go deeper: the whole of The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales
About 5 h 40 min to read.Start freePaperback, hardcover and large print, printed for you at cost, are on their way.Email me when it is printed
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 77,200 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 25 min
Questions about The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales
What is The Captain of the Polestar and Other Tales about?
It is a set of ten short tales by Arthur Conan Doyle that mix ghosts, sea mysteries, comedy, and love. They include a haunted whaler, the drifting Marie Celeste, a mesmerism experiment, a mining-camp preacher, and a midnight in the Louvre.
Is the Marie Celeste story based on a real event?
It starts from the real mystery of the Mary Celeste, found abandoned in 1872 and towed into Gibraltar. Doyle invents the passenger Habakuk Jephson and his statement, so the explanation is fiction built on a true mystery.
Who is Captain Nicholas Craigie?
He is the whaling captain of the Pole-Star in the title story, a brave, well-read, restless man who keeps his past secret and sees a vision across the ice. His ship's doctor records his behavior in a diary.
Is this book easy to read?
Each tale stands alone and suits a single sitting, with clear plots, lively dialogue, and narrators who speak plainly. You can start with any story, whether you want a chill or a laugh.
Why is the book worth reading?
It shows the range of Arthur Conan Doyle beyond Sherlock Holmes, with clever plots, strong atmosphere, and humor across many settings. Readers who enjoy suspense and sudden turns of fate will find a tale for every mood.
Cite this edition
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-captain-of-the-polestar-and-other-tales.
Doyle, A. C. (2026). The captain of the Polestar, and other tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-captain-of-the-polestar-and-other-tales (Original work published 1890)
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-captain-of-the-polestar-and-other-tales.
@book{doyle2026captain,
author = {Doyle, Arthur Conan},
title = {The Captain of the Polestar, and Other Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-captain-of-the-polestar-and-other-tales},
note = {First published 1890}
}
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